Tuesday, 18 October 2011

This one's a little late, readers (SKP has had a busy week), so let's cut to the chase. The top five in Série A all recorded wins over the weekend, meaning things remain as tight as ever. São Paulo, meanwhile, who were in contention until recently, sacked coach Adílson Batista following an embarrassing loss at the hands of Atlético-GO.

Brasileirão Gameweek 30 Round-upCorinthians remain top of the standings after a narrow win over Cruzeiro. Midfielder Paulinho proved his worth once again in that match, scoring his seventh goal of the campaign. Although occupying pole position, the Timão don't have much breathing space; Vasco stayed level on points with a routine triumph over Atlético-MG. At the Engenhão, Uruguayan striker Loco Abreu was again influential as Botafogo brushed aside a disappointing Atlético Paranaense outfit.

Heart and soul: Paulinho celebrates another important strike for Corinthians.

In Fortaleza, Flamengo finally exacted some revenge on their Copa do Brasil conquerors Ceará, sneaking a 1-0 win. Much-maligned frontman Deivid was the hero at the Presidente Vargas, nodding home to keep the Rubro-Negro within three points of the leaders. One point further back are in-form Fluminense, who beat Palmeiras thanks to two more goals from Fred. That wasn't the only brace of the weekend; Andrés D'Alessandro notched a couple in Internacional's comeback win over Avaí. That game also featured the Awkward Celebration of the Week™; Cleverson jumped over the advertising hoardings after brilliantly setting up Robinho's opener, and ran to the crowd. A quick glance over his shoulder suggested that he expected his teammates to have joined him. They hadn't. Not so clever, son.

Adílson Batista's reign as São Paulo manager came to an ignominious conclusion; he was sacked in the wake of the Tricolor's heavy loss to Atlético Goianiense. São Paulinos, many of whom never truly warmed to Adílson in the first place, will be wondering why it took the club's hierarchy so long to wield the axe. The ever-reliable Milton Cruz will takes over as caretaker boss. In the remaining games, there were victories for Grêmio (1-0 against Santos) and Figueirense (2-1 against América-MG), whilst Bahia held Coritiba at the Couto Pereira.